Karen Diaz—a Photonics Technician
What affects a person’s choice to become a photonics
technician? What personal strengths and commitment does it take to enter this
career? What are the rewards?
These questions can be answered by examining the
backgrounds, interests, character traits and career opportunities of successful
photonics technician graduates. OP-TEC’s Photonics Alumni Council for
Technicians (PACT) has recently added 15 new members and presents biographies
of these distinguished graduates to serve as role models for capable young
students who have the interest, desire and commitment to enter the variety of
rewarding careers in this field. Many of these PACT members were not performing
at the top of their high school classes, for a variety of reasons, but
something caught their attention and focused their efforts to obtain an AAS
degree in photonics. We need many more
photonics techs than we are producing to support our country’s defense,
innovation and economic prosperity. Does this sound like something you would
like to do?
Karen Diaz
considers herself lucky: she gets to experience firsthand the incredible way that
electronics, mathematics, and physics work in harmony. As a student at Central
Carolina Community College (CCCC), Karen initially completed an associate of
applied science program in electronics and computer engineering technology.
Upon earning her degree, Karen decided that an additional degree in laser
photonics would offer an even broader spectrum of job opportunities, so she
continued at CCCC, ultimately earning an associate degree in lasers and
photonics technology. Once she enrolled in the program, she found herself
fascinated by what she was learning. “I took the chance to try something new,”
she says, “and found that I loved it.” Karen was also eager to take advantage
of the many opportunities available to women in technology. “As a female,” she
explains, “there are so many opportunities for me in the engineering field. At
the time I graduated, photonics seemed to be an up-and-coming field with lots
of options.”
While Karen
was enrolled at CCCC, she also focused on gaining valuable work experience. At
first, she worked as an information and communication intern for Progress
Energy, where she did everything from building a relay-testing panel to
designing electrical schematics. Later, she worked as a contractor for both
Power Equipment Maintenance and The Atlantic Group. As a contractor, she
calibrated plant equipment and performed maintenance activities. The variety of
experience she gained confirmed her suspicions that photonics was the right
subject matter for her. “This field is so broad,” she explains, “that I have
found myself in situations where I have to apply the knowledge that I learned
in electronics and computer engineering.” By the time she graduated in May
2012, she was ready to advance her career and continue her education.
Currently,
Karen is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Duke University, where she works as an
intern in the photonics and spectroscopy lab. Karen’s internship has given her
additional experience in Python and MATLAB programming, optics handling, and
components testing. At Duke, Karen is able to apply everything she has learned
in her education so far, including electronics engineering, computer
engineering, and laser and photonics technology. One of the things she most
appreciates about her photonics career is the opportunity to face something new
and interesting every day. For example, she is currently working on the
revolutionary MOSAIC gigapixel camera. “I am proud to be involved in such a
revolutionary project,” Karen explains. This camera “can potentially change
the way we take photographs, as well as the media industry.”
Karen
believes that students considering a career in photonics will be amazed by the
many opportunities that the field offers. She acknowledges that many students
are intimidated by the amount of physics and mathematics involved in photonics.
Initially, she, too, was worried about her physics courses, but she stuck with
them and now says that physics is “really not that hard.” She urges those
interested in a technical field to stick with their studies so that they can
see all that photonics has to offer.
Karen has
been offered the opportunity to work in Research Triangle Park, but she has
decided to focus instead on earning her bachelor’s degree. She believes that a
bachelor’s degree will give her career an extra boost and allow her to advance
more easily.
Karen lives in
Durham, North Carolina. She happily dedicates most of her time to her education
and her work, but in her spare time, she enjoys reading and watching movies
with her family.
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